literature

An Itsy Bitsy Story

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  "...crawled up the spout again."

   "Dad?" spoke a boy, neatly tucked into his bed.

   "Yeah, Toby?"

   "Why did the spider keep trying to reach the top?"

   The father proclaimed, "Well, why do heroes in stories do anything? To save the princess of course."

   "There was a princess!?"

   "Well of course there was a princess. Can't have a good story without a princess," he said with a wink and a grin. "Everyone knows that but that's the looooooong version and you," he said placing a finger on Toby's chest, "are a little boy in dire need of sleep."

   "But I'm not even tired and I wanna hear about the princess!" he pleaded ever so sweetly.

   "Alright..." the father sighed in mock defeat, "but you're in for the long haul now so no nodding off. Telling stories is a serious business. He cleared his throat and began. So...a young spider named Wilfred was stan--"

   "Wilfred? What kind of name is that for a spider?"

   "What kind of name!? Why, Wilfred is a most noble name for a spider. We're talking about a spider in a long line of spiders and every one of them named Wilfred," there the father paused and in a sneaking voice said, "but if Wilfred is too unspidery a name for you I suppose I should just let you sleep."

   "No,no,no! Wilfred is a good name!"

   "A very good name. Glad you agree. As I was saying. A young spider named Wilfred was standing at the entrance to a dark and frightening cave. The sky..."

   ...was turning black with the threat of an oncoming storm and Wilfred could feel the wind kicking against his face. Yet he knew he must brave the dark for at the back of this cave was a tunnel that climbed upward to incredible heights. A treacherous journey that only one spider had ever survived...the mad king. The mad king who made his home at the top in a sinister castle. The mad king who had stolen Wilfred's one true love, the Princess Wysteria.

   Wilfred entered the dark cave and was immediately struck by an overwhelming odor. It smelled of slime, and of rot, but most of all it smelled of the dark. Wilfred called out in a quavering voice,"Is anybody there?" He heard nothing but the sound of his own echo against the walls but as it slowly faded away....something else. Something large began to shift itself and then with a fresh wave of stench a voice boomed from the shadows.

   "Is 'at you my king! Have ye brought me a snack?" The voice oozed,"Per'aps a nice juiiicy fly to whet me appetite?" Wilfred inched forward and as he did a form began to take shape. A massive toad sat blocking the way forward peering about with squinting eyes. "Come on now! Speak up then! Me eyes ain't what they used to be."

   Wilfred was stricken with fear and did not know what to do but suddenly......he had an idea. In the most commanding voice he could muster he yelled, "It is I, your king! I demand you let me pass!"

   At this the toad's eyes widened and he jerked his head around to face Wilfred. "Yer grace! Ye should 'ave spoken sooner. I didn't see you there." The toad pressed himself against the side of the cave in trepidation. "The passage is yours yer grace. I'll not be in yer way but if you could bring a fly around nex' time or even one o' them flyin' beetles..."

   "SILENCE!" Wilfred bellowed. "I've had enough of your insolence. You shall turn and face the wall so that I will not be burdened with the sight of you and I shall be on my way." The toad scrabbled to comply and while his back was turned Wilfred began to creep past him.

   "I'm doin' as ye says yer grace, jus' so! No need to sick the biters on me er nuthin! It's jus' a fella gets hungry 'n' all."

   Wilfred moved along past the quivering toad and farther into the depths. As he moved deeper he began to notice small cracks in the sides of the cave that let the tiniest amount of light in, just enough to see by. He hadn't traveled for very long at all when he was forced to stop. He had reached the tunnel and it was even more daunting than he could have imagined. It seemed to stretch forever above him but he knew that somewhere at the top was his beloved. So he pressed on.

   He had been climbing for what seemed like hours and still couldn't see the top so he decided to rest for a moment. He stopped on a small cluster of roots that had grown through the side of the tunnel. The light coming through the cracks was getting dimmer and dimmer and he worried that he wouldn't be able to make it. Then very faintly he heard voices.

   "...go marching one by one..."

   He wondered what it could be? It seemed to be coming from somewhere above him but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

   "...we all go marching down..."

   He crept to the edge of his perch and strained to hear for now the voices seemed closer.

   "...to get out of the rain..."

    Wilfred could hear a chorus of voices seemingly coming from everywhere at once but he couldn't see anything. He crawled as far as he could into the roots. He did not want to run into whatever was coming and the voices were almost right on top of him.

   "...boom, boom, boom, boom, BOOM!..."

   Suddenly the light coming through the cracks in the tunnel above began to flicker. In a panic Wilfred began to climb again. He couldn't lose the light! Throwing caution to the wind he resumed his ascent. The voices were all around him now and they seemed to be coming from outside the tunnel.

   Wilfred paused beside one of the cracks. The voices were coming from outside! He wondered what could be making such noise and peered through one of the cracks. Right on the other side of the wall an enormous army of ants were marching in force. As each ant would pass beside a crack the light would flicker. Wilfred's panic abated. The lights weren't going out after all but it worried him how close they were passing beside him. His own body might be too big to slip through these cracks but the ants could easily make their way into the tunnel.

    Then, almost as quickly as they arrived, the voices began to recede. Wilfred took a quick look behind him to watch as the lights below him flickered off and on again as the army marched away. When the lights stopped flickering he breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his climb......running straight into someone coming down from above.

   It was an ant. "INTRUDER!!!! INTRUDER IN THE TUNNELS!!!!" The scream reverberated down the tunnel. Wilfred grabbed the ant and flung him from the wall. The ant fell down the open shaft all the while screaming,"INTRUDER!!!!" Wilfred started climbing again frantically and then he heard what he feared in the distance,"...boom, boom, boom, boom..."

   The ants were coming. They would eat him alive if he couldn't reach the top so with renewed vigor he climbed. He climbed as fast as his limbs would take him and all the while he could hear,"...boom, boom, boom, BOOM," coming closer and closer until the sound was joined by scurrying feet in the tunnel below.

   "There he is boys! We cannot allow him to reach the king! Forward march! Take no prisoners!" The ants were swarming behind him and still he climbed but suddenly...... there was nowhere left to go. It couldn't be! The tunnel was a dead end. He ran across the ceiling again and again but there was nothing. The ants were almost upon him and he thought to himself that he would have liked to have felt the wind on his face one last time.

   Hold on. I can feel the wind. He felt a slight breeze coming from somewhere on the ceiling. He heard the screams below him,"You'll never get out alive!" but he dared not look. He had to find it. There must be a passage! Then he felt a small crevice and pushed against it. He climbed through and closed the hatch behind him sealing it shut with a bit of web. Just as he finished there was an enormous WHOMP! as the army of ants hit the entrance but they were not strong enough to break the strands.

   The castle was not what Wilfred had expected. He'd expected that the king would have had many servants rushing about and the rooms to be majestically furnished. The reality was stark beyond comparison.  He was greeted by cold stone walls, dirty floors, and empty rooms. It was a dead place and it looked like nothing, let alone a king, had lived there for many years. Wilfred knew where he had to go. the princess would be locked in a high tower at the farthest end of the castle.

   So Wilfred began to climb once more this time ascending stairs in the place of tunnel walls expecting that at any moment the king would find him. After crossing many rooms and climbing many a winding stair he came to the top of the castle and there at the far end of the castle walls in the last tower's window was Wysteria.

   He ran to her screaming her name,"Wysteria!" She turned at the sound of his call and before he could say another word she screamed. His world unexpectedly turned inside out as he was knocked end over end across the ground. In a daze he was caught staring at the darkened skies as a sinister whisper reached his ears.

   "What have we here little bug?" It was the mad king, a decrepit old monster if ever there was one. A gigantic beast, bald and flaking, but for the odd patches of sharp bristling hairs strewn across his body. He was covered in filth and bits of old web that hung from him in tatters but it was his eyes that terrified Wilfred. The king had eight glowing eyes that poured hatred from every socket.

    "An itsy, bitsy, little spider. You have come to offer yourself to me, yes? To feed my children, yes?" He kicked Wilfred with his powerful legs once more. Pain lanced through Wilfred's body like a lightning bolt. "No....no,no. I can see it in your little bug eyes. You meant to steal from me." His gaze darted to the window. "You meant to steal MY WYSTERIA!" In a rage he rushed towards Wilfred.

   The mad king was many times larger and more powerful but Wilfred was quicker and more agile. He weaved in and out of the king's thrashing legs and narrowly escaped being pierced by his fangs. The king grew more enraged by the second,"Come to me you little morsel!"

   Wilfred knew he only had one chance. He could not defeat the king in combat so he would have to find a way to push him over the wall. He threw himself back into the fray but now he had a plan. As the king's filth encrusted claws came lashing at him he would move aside and each time he would spin a little web. Around and around the king he went completely entangling him until...

   THWACK!!

   Another bolt of pain shot through Wilfred's body and he felt a sickening crunch as he was thrown into a parapet. He tried to stand but could not seem to find his footing. The world turned fuzzy and his vision began to fade.

   "Oh dear, oh dear, oh little bug. What a tangled web you've woven," the king cackled, "Why I can hardly walk at all. Be patient. Be patient. It won't take but a moment and then your death will come." He laughed maniacally as he began to work his legs free but his laugh was drowned out by a sudden peal of thunder.

   A single drop of water fell from the sky like a cannonball and battered the wall where they stood. The king reeled away and fell against the edge of the wall. Wilfred was doused with spray from the impact and suddenly his vision cleared. He was finally able to stand and seeing his chance launched himself at the king as hard as he was able. The mad king toppled from the wall and the air was filled with his laughter all the way to the ground below.

   Wilfred ascended the final tower, finding his lady love within and...

   "And? What happened?" Toby inquired.

   "Well, I think you know that part already don't you?"

   Toby grinned and replied, "They lived happily ever after."

   "Darn right they did, kiddo. Darn right. All the best heroes do. But now I think it's time BOTH of us got some sleep." He tucked Toby in a final time, kissed him on the forehead, and turned out the light. "G'night Toby."

   "Dad? What happened to the mad king? Did he die?"

   He paused to consider for a moment before saying,"The sun came out and dried up all the rain but the mad king...well.....he was never seen again."
A very much expanded rewrite of the first story I ever wrote. Done as part of the launch contest for the group #Anthropology-of-Self. I had a lot of fun doing this and I'm glad I finished thanks to the two elements provided by the glorious `Halatia :Inspiration and a deadline. The Wonder Twins of motivation! =D

Here is the original story exactly as I wrote it so many years ago:

"The Ledl Sbidr And Th Bg Kn Sbidr"

wons u pon utim thr wus u lidl sbitr hoo wnt to bed. sumtn hapnd.

he ws n u noo wrld n thr thr wus u ckasl.

he wnt n sid. he sol u big sbitr. he got mad.

the kcng sed,"met me to moro at u badl."

et wus morneng. tha hv sdrtd th badl.

the cked had 1 th badl.

th nd


After the end on the last page I attempted to write out "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" in its entirety.

I know that just blew your mind, right? F***ing adorable. I've got pictures too but I can't upload those.
© 2012 - 2024 SubjugatedSandwich
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autumnlit's avatar
:star::star::star::star::star: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star: Vision
:star::star::star::star::star: Originality
:star::star::star::star::star: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star: Impact

This was absolutely amazingly adorable. SO adorable that I'm going to read this to my son. Haha! I got nostalgia from this, the old rhymes, I could help but think of childhood movies like The Princess Bride and Alice In Wonderland.

Creative and clever how you pooled these rhymes to gather and were able to inspire to create this splendid little tale. Especially the ants, that was so well done, the whole vision of it was so vivid.

The beginning with the parent reading to the child was a lovely touch and I enjoyed it very much. A beautiful happy ending, and I LOVE that our hero was a spider. Very unique. Keep up the beautifully creative work. ^^

I'm giving you 5 stars, because I truly believe this was fantastic and could be put into a child's book with pictures. I would have bought it. Can't wait to read more of your work. <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="=)" title="=) (Smile)"/>